Changes have been made to one part of a set of pedestrian crossings at the Addenbrooke’s roundabout in Cambridge to improve accessibility in the area.
The traffic system had been using buttons that must be physically pushed to activate. However, this was found to be difficult to use for people with certain disabilities, such as Parkinson’s disease.
Now, contactless push buttons to control the traffic signals have been installed at one arm of the roundabout’s crossings that can be activated by holding a hand underneath the push button box.
According to Cambridgeshire County Council, if the trial is deemed a success, more contactless boxes may be installed when new crossings are built or existing crossings are refurbished.
Cllr Neil Shailer, member of Cambridgeshire County Council’s highways and transport committee, said: “We want to make sure our county is accessible to everyone and this is one step we can take to help achieve this.
“I’m very pleased to see that this will help make the pedestrian crossing at the Addenbrooke’s roundabout more accessible, and if it is as successful as we hope it will be, I’d like to see more across the county.”
